UPSC 2025 Sports & Awards: Gandhi Peace Prize Jury, First Kho Kho World Cup and 45th Chess Olympiad Explained

UPSC 2025 General Studies Paper-I returned to a topic that always surfaces in years with high-profile national honours and Indian sporting milestones: awards, ceremonies and sports diplomacy. Three questions — Q53 (Gandhi Peace Prize jury), Q59 (first Kho Kho World Cup) and Q60 (45th Chess Olympiad) — together accounted for six marks and tested whether candidates could distinguish between who confers a prize and who selects it, between a one-off sporting debut and a generic tournament, and between the team-format Chess Olympiad and the one-on-one World Chess Championship.

This explainer consolidates everything UPSC has tested or is likely to test from these three events: the complete Gandhi Peace Prize awardee list from 1995 to 2024, the rules, organisation and scorelines of the first Kho Kho World Cup, India’s historic double-gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, and D. Gukesh’s separate FIDE World Championship victory over Ding Liren in Singapore. Five comparison tables and seven practice MCQs are included for revision.

Part 1 — The Gandhi Peace Prize: institution, jury and full awardees list

Institution and administration

The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is administered by the Ministry of Culture and is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex. The prize recognises ‘social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.’

Each prize carries a cash component of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item. The award is conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan, not by the Prime Minister — a small but examination-relevant distinction.

Jury composition — the UPSC Q53 trap

The Gandhi Peace Prize jury is a five-member body chaired by the Prime Minister. UPSC Q53 listed several dignitaries and asked which were members. The correct set is:

Selection process

1. Nominations are invited each year from a wide range of sources — Members of Parliament, Governors, Chief Ministers, former awardees, Nobel laureates, vice-chancellors and editors of major newspapers.
2. Nominations are scrutinised by the Ministry of Culture and placed before the jury.
3. The jury, chaired by the PM, deliberates and selects the awardee — or chooses not to confer the prize that year.
4. The Ministry of Culture announces the award and arranges the conferment ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Several years (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016) saw no award being conferred. In 2023 the Ministry of Culture clubbed multiple pending years and announced laureates for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 together — clearing the backlog.

Complete list of Gandhi Peace Prize awardees (1995–2024)

Where the Gandhi Peace Prize sits in India’s award hierarchy

Two takeaways for UPSC. First, the Gandhi Peace Prize is the only major civilian honour where the Prime Minister formally chairs the selection jury — the Padma Awards committee, for example, is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Second, the prize is not restricted to Indian citizens; foreign nationals and institutions (Mandela, Grameen Bank, Tutu, Mujibur Rahman, Sasakawa) have all won.

Notable controversies and policy debates

Three episodes have shaped public debate around the Gandhi Peace Prize and are useful as essay material:

• 2021 — Gita Press award. Historian Ramchandra Guha and several commentators argued that Gita Press’s publishing record on caste and gender did not align with Gandhi’s reform agenda. The Ministry of Culture defended the choice on the ground that the prize recognises a century of religious-text publishing and that the prize money was being declined by the institution. The episode revived the question of whether a state award attached to Gandhi’s name should be tied strictly to his social-reform legacy or extended to any contributor to Indian civilisational life.
• 1995–2018 — multiple ‘no award’ years. Of the 24 years between the prize’s institution and 2018, the jury chose not to confer an award in 16. This led to a public perception of the prize as semi-active. Since 2019 the Ministry has consciously cleared the backlog.
• Posthumous awards. The 2020 award to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 2019 award to Sultan Qaboos were the first posthumous Gandhi Peace Prizes to foreign statesmen, signalling a diplomatic use of the honour — Bangladesh’s liberation jubilee and Oman’s role as an India-friendly Gulf state respectively.

How the Gandhi Peace Prize differs from other ‘Gandhi’ awards

Several international honours invoke Gandhi’s name but are administered outside India and follow different selection logics. A short comparative note prevents confusion in mains answers.

Part 2 — The first Kho Kho World Cup, 2025

What happened

The first-ever Kho Kho World Cup was held in India from 13 to 19 January 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi. It featured 24 nations from 6 continents and over 615 athletes across men’s and women’s sections. The tournament was jointly organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) and the International Kho Kho Federation (IKKF), with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports providing institutional support.

India, as expected, dominated. The Indian men’s team, led by Pratik Waikar, defeated Nepal 78–40 in the final on 19 January 2025 to be crowned the inaugural world champions. The Indian women’s team, led by Priyanka Ingle, similarly defeated Nepal 78–40 in the women’s final — an identical scoreline that made for a clean Indian sweep.

Participating nations and structure

The 24 participating nations spanned six continents — a deliberate signal that Kho Kho is no longer a purely South Asian sport. Teams came from Asia (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea), Africa (Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda), Europe (England, Germany, Netherlands, Poland), Americas (USA, Brazil, Argentina, Peru), and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand).

The tournament used a group-stage plus knockout format, with men’s and women’s brackets running in parallel. India fielded Khelo India–nurtured athletes and Ultimate Kho Kho League players, while Nepal — runners-up in both finals — emerged as the strongest non-Indian side.

Game history — Maharashtra origin to global federation

Rules in brief — what UPSC could ask

Kho Kho is a contact-chase team sport. A working understanding of its structure is useful both for general-studies preparation and for interview-stage questions on indigenous sports revival.

Government policy linkage

• Khelo India Youth Games (since 2018) include Kho Kho — a deliberate push to revive indigenous sports alongside mainstream ones.
• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) does not yet cover Kho Kho, but the Sports Ministry has indicated that any Olympic-pathway sport will be considered.
• National Sports Awards — Kho Kho players are eligible for Arjuna Award and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna; Sarika Kale (2022) was an Arjuna Award recipient.
• Fit India Movement uses Kho Kho as a demonstration sport in school programmes, given its low equipment cost.

Kho Kho vs Kabaddi — two indigenous Indian sports going global

Why this World Cup matters beyond the trophy

Three structural shifts converged in January 2025 to make a Kho Kho World Cup possible. The first was the institutional one: the International Kho Kho Federation was constituted only in 2023, with India taking the founding-president role. Without an IKKF, FIDE-style or FIFA-style tournament-staging would not have been possible. The second was the commercial one: the Ultimate Kho Kho franchise league, launched in 2022 with broadcast support, gave players in India a year-round professional pathway and produced video-content libraries that other federations could study. The third was the policy one: the Khelo India inclusion of Kho Kho in 2019 channelled scholarships, coaching and infrastructure into the sport, turning it from a school-PE pastime into an athletic-track discipline.

For UPSC General Studies, the takeaway is that the World Cup is not a stand-alone sports story but the culmination of a five-year policy-and-industry pipeline. Questions on ‘soft power’, ‘Khelo India outcomes’ or ‘cultural diplomacy’ can deploy it as a worked example.

Part 3 — 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 and Gukesh’s World Championship

The Olympiad — Budapest, September 2024

The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad was held in Budapest, Hungary, from 10 to 22 September 2024. It is the biennial team championship of world chess, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE). The 2024 edition saw 197 federations in the Open section and 183 in the Women’s section — the largest Olympiad ever in terms of participating teams.

India entered Budapest as the second seeds in the Open section and as one of the favourites in the Women’s. By the end of the eleven-round Swiss tournament, India had achieved what no nation other than the Soviet Union and China had done in this century: team gold in both sections of the same Olympiad. India also collected two individual board golds.

Indian Open team — line-up and individual results

Indian Women’s team — line-up and individual results

Captain of the Open team: Srinath Narayanan. Captain of the Women’s team: Abhijit Kunte. India’s previous best at an Olympiad was a double bronze at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad — also under the same captains.

The other big event — Gukesh becomes World Champion in Singapore

Two months after Budapest, the FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 was held in Singapore from 25 November to 13 December 2024. The defending champion was Ding Liren of China, who had won the 2023 title after Magnus Carlsen vacated the throne. The challenger was India’s D. Gukesh, who had won the 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto in April 2024.

Gukesh won the 14-game match 7.5 – 6.5, sealing the title in Game 14 on 12 December 2024 after Ding Liren blundered in a drawn rook-endgame. At 18 years and 8 months, Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in history — breaking Garry Kasparov’s 1985 record (set at 22). He is the second Indian World Champion after Viswanathan Anand.

Olympiad vs World Championship vs Candidates vs Grand Chess Tour

Chess Olympiad — a brief history

The Chess Olympiad has been held since 1927 (London), briefly interrupted by World War II. From 1948 to 1990 the Soviet Union dominated, winning 18 of 19 Olympiads. After the USSR’s dissolution, Russia, the United States, Armenia, China and now India have shared the top honours. India hosted the 44th Olympiad in Chennai in 2022 — the first Indian-hosted Olympiad — and won double bronze. Two years later, in Budapest, that bronze upgraded to gold.

How India built a chess powerhouse — the policy and pipeline view

India’s chess rise is sometimes attributed to a single name — Viswanathan Anand — but the 2024 double is the outcome of a thirty-year ecosystem build. Anand’s 1988 GM title and his five World Championships between 2000 and 2012 created national legitimacy and television coverage. Around it grew a layered structure: state-level academies in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and West Bengal; private coaching networks such as the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA); and online-rapid platforms that lifted the playing-strength ceiling for school-age players.

Three policy levers reinforced the ecosystem. Khelo India recognised chess as a discipline in 2019, opening up scholarships and travel grants. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) added selected players to its support roll. State sponsorship — Tamil Nadu hosting the 44th Olympiad in 2022 and bidding aggressively for the 2024 Candidates Tournament — signalled long-term political backing. By 2024, India had over 85 Grandmasters, four players inside the world top-25 and a Women’s team with two former world top-5 players (Humpy and Harika) plus three under-25 prospects.

FIDE governance

• FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) — founded 1924, Paris; IOC-recognised since 1999.
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.
• President (2024): Arkady Dvorkovich (Russia), re-elected in 2022.
• India’s body: All India Chess Federation (AICF), founded 1951.
• Number of member federations: 200+ (as of 2024).

Indian Grandmasters — title-year reference table

India’s Grandmaster count crossed 85 in 2024 — a number that has nearly tripled in a decade. The most examination-relevant names are listed below.

Practice MCQs — Gandhi Peace Prize, Kho Kho, Chess Olympiad

1. Consider the following statements regarding the Gandhi Peace Prize jury: (1) The President of India chairs the jury. (2) The Chief Justice of India is an ex-officio member. (3) The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member. Which of the statements is/are correct?

1. (1) only
2. (2) and (3) only
3. (1) and (3) only
4. (1), (2) and (3)

2. The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted in which year and is administered by which ministry?

1. 1969; Ministry of External Affairs
2. 1995; Ministry of Culture
3. 1995; Ministry of Home Affairs
4. 2000; Ministry of Education

3. Which of the following won the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021 (announced in 2023)?

1. Mata Amritanandamayi
2. Gita Press, Gorakhpur
3. ISRO
4. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

4. With reference to the first Kho Kho World Cup, consider the following statements: (1) It was held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi in January 2025. (2) India won both the men’s and women’s titles by defeating Bangladesh in the finals. Which of the statements is/are correct?

1. (1) only
2. (2) only
3. Both (1) and (2)
4. Neither (1) nor (2)

5. The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in 2024 was held in:

1. Chennai, India
2. Singapore
3. Budapest, Hungary
4. Astana, Kazakhstan

6. Whom did D. Gukesh defeat to become the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in December 2024?

1. Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia
2. Magnus Carlsen of Norway
3. Ding Liren of China
4. Fabiano Caruana of the USA

7. Consider the following statements: (1) India won team gold in both the Open and Women’s sections at the 45th Chess Olympiad. (2) The Chess Olympiad and the FIDE World Chess Championship are conducted as a single integrated event. (3) Arjun Erigaisi won an individual board gold for India at Budapest 2024. Which of the statements is/are correct?

1. (1) only
2. (1) and (3) only
3. (2) and (3) only
4. (1), (2) and (3)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who chairs the Gandhi Peace Prize jury?

The Prime Minister of India chairs the five-member Gandhi Peace Prize jury. The other members are the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and two eminent persons nominated for the purpose. The President of India is not a jury member — the President typically confers the prize.

When and where was the first Kho Kho World Cup held?

The first Kho Kho World Cup was held from 13–19 January 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. It featured 24 nations and over 600 athletes across men’s and women’s sections.

Who won the first Kho Kho World Cup?

India won both the men’s and women’s titles. In the men’s final on 19 January 2025 India defeated Nepal 78–40. India’s women also beat Nepal in the women’s final to complete a clean sweep.

Where was the 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 held?

The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad was held in Budapest, Hungary, from 10–22 September 2024. It saw over 190 federations compete across the Open and Women’s sections.

Did India win team gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad?

Yes. For the first time in history India won team gold in both the Open and the Women’s sections of the same Chess Olympiad — a historic double, surpassing the bronze medals India had won at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad.

Whom did Gukesh Dommaraju defeat to become World Chess Champion?

D. Gukesh defeated the defending champion Ding Liren of China 7.5–6.5 at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore on 12 December 2024, becoming the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion at age 18.

Was Gukesh’s World Championship win part of the Chess Olympiad?

No. The Chess Olympiad (Budapest, September 2024) and the World Chess Championship (Singapore, November–December 2024) are two separate FIDE events. The Olympiad is a team championship; the World Championship is a one-on-one match between the champion and the challenger.

When was the Gandhi Peace Prize instituted and by whom?

The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted in 1995 by the Government of India to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is administered by the Ministry of Culture and carries ₹1 crore in cash along with a citation, a plaque and a traditional handicraft item.

Who received the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2023?

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) was named the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2023, recognised for her humanitarian and charitable work through the Mata Amritanandamayi Math.

Which Indian state is traditionally credited as the origin of Kho Kho?

Maharashtra is traditionally credited as the origin of modern Kho Kho. The first formal rules were framed by the Deccan Gymkhana, Pune, in 1914, and the Kho Kho Federation of India was set up in 1955–56.

Key takeaways

• The Gandhi Peace Prize jury is chaired by the Prime Minister; the President confers but does not select.
• The first Kho Kho World Cup was hosted by India at IGI Stadium, Delhi (January 2025); India beat Nepal 78–40 in both finals.
• India achieved a historic double team gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, September 2024.
• D. Gukesh beat Ding Liren of China 7.5–6.5 in Singapore in December 2024 — a separate event from the Olympiad — to become the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion.
• For UPSC, the critical distinction in Q60 was between the team-format Olympiad and the match-format World Championship.

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